---
title: 'Portland venture capital just hit a 10-year low. Good.'
date: '2026-04-17T09:49:33-07:00'
type: post
word_count: 503
char_count: 3897
tokens: 654
categories:
  - Portland
tags:
  - '2'
---

# Portland venture capital just hit a 10-year low. Good.

*(Cue up “[Been down so long](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJuDD93JbOw)“)* The latest Venture Monitor data from PitchBook and the NVCA just dropped. [Portland metro: $69.7 million across 15 deals in Q1](https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2026/04/16/venture-monitor-q1-activity-drops.html). Down nearly 65% from Q1 last year. Statewide: $74 million across 23 deals. The lowest first quarter since they started tracking in 2016.

Oof. I know. I know. But hold your horses there, persnickety pants. Because I’ve been here before. Multiple times. And as such, this is good news to me. So before you spiral into some “[doom loop](https://siliconflorist.com/2025/03/13/weve-been-here-before-portland-we-know-what-to-do/)” trope, let me remind you what happened the *last* time things looked like this.

In 2016, Portland metro venture capital totaled $370 million for the entire year. That was “low.” That was “concerning.” But here’s what was being built while everyone was wringing their hands about the state of VC — or lack thereof:

- [**Vacasa**](https://siliconflorist.com/2017/04/05/vacasa-vacation-rental-management-raises-series-b/) was quietly raising rounds and building the largest vacation rental management company in North America. Became a unicorn. [Went public acheiving a $4.4 billion valuation](https://www.opb.org/article/2021/12/07/vacasa-ipo-price-portland-oregon-based-companies-vacation-rentals-stock-market/).
- [**Jama Software**](https://siliconflorist.com/2018/07/25/jama-software-raises-200m/) had been bootstrapping since 2007. No VC apart from a few pitch competition wins here and there. Took a $200 million round in 2018 because they’d built something worth that much. Sold to Francisco Partners in 2024 for $1.2 billion. [The largest software exit in Portland history](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5a2XSuzNjg).
- [**Cloudability**](https://siliconflorist.com/2017/06/07/portland-startup-cloudability-raises-series-b/) raised about $40 million total over its entire life. Built the definitive cloud cost management tool. Acquired by Apptio. Apptio was acquired by IBM. [Now all we hear about is how great Cloudability is](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5a2XSuzNjg).
- [**Streem**](https://siliconflorist.com/2019/02/25/streem-portland-number-2-crunchbase-50/) was founded in late 2017. In 18 months it was [\#2](https://siliconflorist.com/tag/2/) on Crunchbase’s 50 hottest companies globally. [Acquired in under three years.](https://siliconflorist.com/2019/12/05/well-that-was-quick-portland-startup-streem-acquired/)
- [**Cozy**](https://siliconflorist.com/2018/12/10/cozy-acquired-apartments-com/) grew by going *free* for landlords — a counterintuitive move that had nothing to do with venture-funded growth hacking. [Acquired by Apartments.com for $68 million](https://siliconflorist.com/2018/11/14/reflecting-on-why-the-cozy-and-radar-exits-are-important-for-the-portland-startup-community/).

That’s just to name a few.

And while all of that was happening? [Zebras Unite launched DazzleCon](https://siliconflorist.com/2017/11/14/dazzlecon-zebras-unite/) right here in Portland. It was the beginning of a movement that literally articulated *why* lean capital produces better companies. [By 2019 it was in The New York Times](https://siliconflorist.com/2019/01/11/zebras-of-new-york-counter-startup-capital-movement-with-portland-roots-featured-in-the-nyt/).

So yeah. $69.7 million across 15 deals. The lowest Q1 in a decade. But I’m not concerned. Because you know what I see…? **I see a community that has always been inspired to do its best work regardless of the amount of capital being thrown around.**

So yeah. The number is low. And I’m not worried. Because I’ve seen what this community builds while nobody’s paying attention.

More Oregon startup news
------------------------